Plague

Here is how it started: Gabe went to daycare on Feb. 3rd. Almost immediately he got a pretty boring stuffy nose/cold. And pretty quickly after that Kamel got the same cold, which I mocked him for because he is a total wiener.

The second week in February Gabe woke up crying and coughing. When Kamel went in to soothe him, he threw up all over his crib. Then while Kamel was holding him and I was gathering up all of his crib sheets, Gabe threw up all over Kamel and all over the carpet. I sent the two boys into the bath while I threw all of the clothes and sheets into the washer and cleaned up the carpet. That was on a Tuesday.

On Wednesday I kept the baby home and on Thursday all hell broke loose when both Kamel and I came down with the 24 hour bug – right in time for Valentines day. Aww. That sucked up an entire weekend! As a grown up the 24 hour bug is more like a 72 hour recovery because we are old and sad and no match for baby illness. But the time I totally felt better it was Monday, the 17th.

On Wednesday, the 19th I woke up with a wicked sore throat. Wednesday evening I got the chills like I had never had them before, and a fever of 101-102. Yay!! Sick AGAIN!

That next weekend Gabe also developed a fever that was just hanging on and wouldn’t go away. Then he got double pink eye and I knew we needed to head to urgent care.

Turns out he had a double ear infection, croup, another virus on top of that, and pink eye. Poor sad baby!

Monday of this week I kept the baby home from daycare again, let him nap a lot, and watched his fever disappear. That day I also began losing my voice. Since then I’ve developed a cough, buckets of snot, and general oh-god-I-feel-like-shit-ness. Yesterday morning I went to the doctor and they ruled out a lot of things and I basically just have a cruddy virus. It may turn into a sinus infection so if I see no improvement by tomorrow I have antibiotics to start. But at this point, I don’t even know if those are going to work.

Kamel is a few days behind me with the most recent illness so we have been a barely functioning household this week – forcing antibiotics down Gabe’s throat, negotiating with each other on who has to get up and handle the baby because “Oh my god if I don’t get any sleep I’m NEVER going to get better!” and collecting piles of kleenex in paper bags all over the apartment.

Last night I developed pink eye in my left eye. Today I have an important interview that I’ve already rescheduled once.

So that’s been my February so far, and now that it is the 27th I’m fairly certain it’s going to be my entire Feb and most likely the beginning of my March. I don’t complain about being sick very often, so I wanted to spell out the crap that is happening over here. And I even got a flu shot! Universe! I shake my fist at you! I’m very much hoping that I don’t have any reason to mention anything about any germs at all. Well, maybe except to say they are all dead and gone.

“They” say that the first year of daycare is AWFUL illness wise, the second is better, the third you are golden. I can definitely say that has been true for us so far. First year: death, doom, destruction, vomit. Second year: illness and annoyance. We are coming up on the start of year 3 in May, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for GOLDEN.

So except for the pink eye, that’s exactly how this month has looked at our house–E got sick Feb 1, I followed on the 3rd, and neither of us have recovered yet (sounds like Dave has fared better than Kamel, though, since he was only sick for a few days other than the cough of eternity). Nighttime wakeups for a baby who used to sleep through the night when you’re sick yourself are particularly torturous. Hope your family is all better soon!

It’s always those secondary infections that really get me. There was a study somewhere (isn’t there always) that cigarette smoke is one of the biggest causes of secondary infections (sinus, throat and chest) because it weakens an already weakened system and sticks. Charming. I now get fully ropable around smokers whenever we have colds – especially the ones that stand right next to entryways with the sign above their head cleary reading “No Smoking within 5 metres of this building”.

I too got the pink eye cold virus this winter, and this generic “eye itch relief” eye drop stuff really soothed the redness for temporary meetings when I needed to not look like someone with pink eye . Also, no contacts unless/until you absolutely have to.

🙁 Sucky!
I am hella nervous about LJ starting daycare next week because of the whole “catching everything” thing… Given we spent a night in hospital this week when an “Acute Viral Wheeze” (effectively an asthma attack in a 11 month old), and because of that I’ve not seen anything like personal time in over a week – I cant imagine how it would go with me also being sick!
Hope you all get better soon. Keep on keeping on!

I’ve been MIA from your blog since last year. Generally around the time Arianna got sick with the same thing it sounds like Gabe has/had. Except her ‘stomach flu’ seemed to last almost 2 months. I had to keep her off solid food. Then after the holidays passed I started solids again, but it was like starting all over. Fast forward to today, I had some time to catch up on your posts. Congrats on the move! Sorry to hear about Feb. being an endless chaotic mess of a month with all the sickness. And keep writing the blog but don’t feel like you ‘have to’ unless you’re inspired by something.
I stay at home with Ari but we attend lots of play dates and she definitely picked up her stomach bug and a few other colds from interacting with older infants. It’s going to happen. On the upside I keep hearing it’s supposed to make the baby immune system stronger…so there’s that. (not very comforting when you’re cleaning up puke, feeling helpless as your child suffers…etc).
I look forward to reading more of the Lauren & family adventures!